The main concept of Benchmarking is
to find better ways to do what we are doing, so that to move from where we are
to where we want to be. Specifically, Benchmarking is the process of
identifying, understanding and adapting outstanding practices from within the
same organization or from other businesses to help improve performance. This involves
evaluating and comparing processes, helping by this way an organization
to set new standards and
goals, which in turn, will help to improve and add value to its processes
providing better performance and improved quality.

In order for a Benchmarking
project to be more efficient and not simply a waste of time and money, it should
be divided into stages. Each stage should be completed before moving to the
next. These stages are generally the following:

In many organizations, training processes form a sub-system
of the organization or even the whole system, in cases of pure training
organizations.

Benchmarking focuses on evaluation and improvement,
which are necessary in Training processes. In modern training, it must be
proven that an improvement of the current status has been achieved.
Therefore, Benchmarking concepts and evaluation methodologies can be applied on
the evaluation of Training.

In this project and in its courses,
emphasis was given on the implementation of evaluation methods on training
processes, considering evaluation as a core function of Benchmarking and a main
factor for its successful implementation in training.

Evaluation is the systematic collection of descriptive
and judgmental information necessary to make effective decisions related
to the selection, adoption, modification and improvement
of various instructional processes, as Benchmarking indicates.

Evaluation is integral to
the circle of training and has the key role of quality assurance of
the circle by providing feedback on the effectiveness of the methods
being used, the achievement of the objectives set by both trainers and
trainees and whether the needs originally identified, both at organizational and
individual level, have been met in comparison with internal or external training
standards.

During the courses the identification of
training needs focused on 3 levels: The organization, the job and
the individual.

Analysis at the organizational level is used to determine where
training can and should be used. This implies that the training plan
should be constructed in the same context as the business plan and be closely
related to it. Training should be for the benefit of the organization as
this will benefit the individuals in it. Thus, training objectives, especially
those for management development, should be reviewed regularly by top
management and particularly whenever a change in direction or emphasis is
planned. At the job data level of analysis, it is necessary to discover what
tasks need to be performed in order to do the job, how they
should be performed and thus what needs to be learned in order to perform
them well.

Finally at the individual level the intention is to
assess performance levels against those required in the job.

Several methods to carry out the analysis
and the integration of the training needs were presented at the courses,
including those proposed by Total Quality Management.

The evaluation of changes due to training at
organizational, job and individual level is an important factor for training to
be effective. The use of evaluation methods is necessary to realize the
degree of training effectiveness and to apply comparison procedures for both
internal and external Benchmarking. Evaluation methods, concerning
changes and improvement measurements, have been presented in detail during the
courses of this project:

As "Benchmarking"
methodologies propose, with the use of systematic methods for the design,
implementation, monitoring and evaluation of training processes at organizational,
job and personal level, Training can be helped significantly to be more
efficient for both organizations and individuals, especially in vocational and
life long learning processes. In this project an effort was made through the 6
courses organized (3 in Greece, 2 in Bulgaria and 1 in Slovakia) the above to be presented
in a detailed manner, aiming to make the people who attended them able to
apply them in their organizations.